Chapter 16 - Restless

Lost was sitting, leaning against the wall when Sarah and Swirl came into the dorm. Their laughter and chatter stopped when they saw Lost looking shaken.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Sarah asked, her brow crinkled in concern.

"Did something happen? Are you still worried about that noise you heard?" Swirl said.

"I guess I'm still a bit spooked," Lost started shakily, "When I was walking back, I heard someone behind me! I saw them, they were right behind me!"

"Wait, wait. Someone was actually stalking you?" Swirl gulped.

"I think so." Lost stood up, her legs still weak from the fright.

For a moment, the dorm was quiet as the girls thought about what Lost said.

 

"It could have been someone going to their dorm and they just happened to be behind you," Sarah said after a while.

 

"That's possible," Swirl replied.

 

Lost nodded, still a bit unsure. "Yeah, maybe."

 

 

"Well, as much as I don't want to leave you guys, I should get back to my dorm," Sarah said. "I'll see you all tomorrow, okay?"

 

 

Sarah walked over to the door, paused, and turned around. "And Lost? Don't worry, we'll figure this mystery out."

 

 

"Thanks, Sarah. Have a good sleep!" Lost said.

 

Lost watched Sarah leave. As the door softly closed, Lost's gaze met Swirl's.

 

 

"Don't worry. We can think about this tomorrow. Try to get some rest," Swirl said reassuringly.

Lost nodded and smiled softly at Swirl before going to sit on her bed. She leaned back into the soft blanket and stared at the plain white ceiling above her.

 

A thought struck her. Rolling over, she grabbed her phone from the night table. She lightly pressed the power button and went to all of her text messages. She clicked Koolest's name and sent a quick text.

 

Lost scanned her last few texts that she had sent at school. A few of them said they had been read but the last few hadn't. And there had been no reply from Koolest.

She's probably just busy with school and stuff. She'll get back to me later.

- - -

Lost felt like an overtired zombie the next morning as she grabbed the tray and moved down the line. She stiffly held her tray of scrambled eggs and toast and gazed out at all the tables. She thought she noticed a few students glance at her and whisper something to their friends.

Everyone probably knows I ditched a class. Great.

"Lost! Over here!" Ja called from a table nearby.

"Hey," Lost mumbled as she sat down and started poking at her eggs. The smell was making her want to puke.

"Lost, you look awful! Did you not get any sleep?" Karalee asked, her eyes full of worry.

"I had a super restless sleep," Lost said.

Swirl stared at Lost from across the table. "Is this about last night?"

"Oh, Sarah told me what happened, Lost! That sounds spooky!" Ja said.

"Wait, what? Did I miss something?" Karalee said. "Something spooky happened?"

Lost ate her toast while vaguely listened as Swirl and Sarah gave Karalee the full story on what happened. Lost's mind drifted off to think about what to say to Ms. Liza and what might happen to her and if she'd fail English and-

"Wow, Lost, that sounds so weird!" Karalee said, her voice breaking through Lost's worries. "The mystery just gets more and more strange."

"Mhm," Lost said and rubbed her eyes.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Sarah asked. "You look super tired. Is there anything else bothering you?"

"Well, I haven't heard from Koolest in a long while. She hasn't replied to any of my recent texts and I'm worried," Lost said.

"Oh no," Swirl said worriedly. "I'm sure everything is fine but I'll keep an eye out for her, okay?"

"Yeah, I think we have some of the same classes so I'll try to spot her," Karalee said.

"We'll find her, don't worry," Ja patted Lost's shoulder.

"Thanks, guys." Lost forced a smile, trying to ignore the worry that was twisting in her.

- - -

"Lostfairy? Lostfairy, can you come back to us, please?" Mr. Cosmo called.

"Whuh?" Lost sat up straight quickly. Everyone in her science class turned and gave her odd looks.

Mr. Cosmo sighed and rubbed his face tiredly. "I was asking if you knew what male bees are called and if they had any job in the hive?"

"Um," Lost quickly thought back at what she had read the day before. "They are called drones and their job is to mate with the female bees," Lost said.

"That is correct but pay more attention next time, okay?" Mr. Cosmo said before asking some other student a question about female bees.

Lost slumped in her chair. Her mind was full of worry and she just couldn't think of anything else. Her gaze slipped over to her backpack.

Should I risk it?

Carefully reaching for her backpack pocket that held her phone, she kept an eye on Mr. Cosmo. She quietly slipped the phone out and turned it on. She checked her text messages.

Still none from Koolest.

Lost felt her heart drop lower as she put the phone back. Penguin, sitting next to her, caught her gaze. He looked at her, then the backpack, and then her again. He frowned and shook his head before looking back at Mr. Cosmo.

Trying to act cool, Lost felt her face turn warm as she tried to pay attention to the young teacher as he excitedly talked about the eating habits of bees.

 

- - -

 

Lost slunk into her English classroom before the bell rang, hoping to catch Ms. Liza alone so they could talk before everyone came and heard them. That would be majorly embarrassing.

 

The room was empty except for Ms. Liza who was grabbing books from a box and putting them into the giant oak shelves. She turned around to see who had come in.

 

"Ah, Lost, glad to see your feeling better," Ms. Liza smiled. "Come, help me put these books away."

 

Lost slowly walked over, feeling uncomfortable. She held a stack of books out for let Ms. Liza who grabbed the first one and searched for its place.

 

"So, what happened yesterday?" Ms. Liza asked after a few minutes.

 

Lost gulped. "I panicked, I'm so sorry. You can punish me or tell the Headmaster or fail me or-"

 

"Sweetie, calm down," Ms. Liza chuckled softly. "Nothing bad is going to happen. It was my own fault, jumping that on you at the last second."

 

"I just don't like public speaking." Lost handed her teacher a thick book. "And I know ditching class is awful but I just had to get away."

 

"I get that, Lost," Ms. Liza said, sliding another book into its place. "But in English, you will have to do public speaking but you will get better. And your in Drama, aren't you? That will also help you cause you'll have to do your lines onstage."

 

Ms. Liza turned to look at Lost and looked into her eyes. "We can't always run away from our fears. Life will sometimes make us have to face them head on. You can do that for me?"

 

Lost nodded just as the bell rang.

 

"Well, it's almost class time. Thank you for helping, Lost," Ms. Liza said with a smile. She grabbed the box and put it in a nearby cupboard.

 

"So, I'm not in trouble?" Lost asked, shocked.

 

"No, you're fine." Ms. Liza winked as if they had a special secret and walked over to her desk.

 

Breathing a sigh of relief that everything went better than expected, Lost sat at her desk and waited for class to start.

Chapter 8 - Good Morning Jamaasian High

Lost woke up to find sunlight streaming down out of the big window onto her face. She moaned and sat up, squinting her eyes.

 

Lost looked at all her room mates, each in turn. Swirl was curled up in her blankets with a little smile on her face. Gracie had her face stuffed into her pillow and one of her arms flopped out of the bed. Fang was lying perfectly still on her back with the blankets pulled over her face.



Smiling, Lost turned to look at the clock on her side table next to her bed. It shouted six-thirty at her in bold red light.

Sinking back into her fluffy covers, Lost stared at the ceiling, wondering what to do while she waited for her roomies to wake up.

An idea struck her. Lost quietly turned over and opened her backpack, cringing at the noises her zipper made. She pushed some books aside and grabbed her sketchbook and pencil.

Lost flipped the sketchbook open and tapped her pencil thoughtfully on her chin.

"Ughhhh," a voice groaned from Gracie's side of the room. Lost glanced up, surprised. Gracie then rolled over and her other arm flopped down on the other side of the bed.

Lost grinned and start sketching four people. She was going to draw her and her room mates together.

Half hour passed when Swirl yawned and lifted her arms, stretching. Lost watched as Swirl sat up and looked around. She smiled at Lost and Lost gestured to come over to her bed.

Swirl got up slowly, walked over to Lost's bed, and jumped under the covers with Lost.

"What are you drawing?" Swirl asked quietly.

"You. Well, all of us," Lost said. She pushed her sketchbook over for Swirl to see.

Swirl looked eagerly and did a thumbs up gesture. "That's so cool!"

Gracie made another noise from her side of the room. Swirl and Lost glanced over at her bed and then back at each other. They both grinned and suddenly, they just lost it. Lost quickly stuffed her face in the covers but she kept on giggling. Swirl kept on making funny noises as she tried to stop.

The noise woke up Fang. She sat up and looked at Lost and Swirl who were still laughing. She cocked her head, confused.

Swirl just shook her head and snickered. Lost still had her head in a blanket.

Gracie all of a sudden woke up and sat up quickly.

"What's going on?" she asked, sleepily.

Lost finally got control of herself and lifted her head. "You just were making funny noises and well, it wasn't that funny but I guess I'm hyper!"

Gracie laughed. "I was making noises? Like what?"

Swirl stopped laughing and started mimicking the noises Gracie had made. But Swirl was still gasping from laughing so hard so all she did was wheeze.

All the girls looked at each other and burst out laughing. Lost beamed.

I sure have some awesome room mates!

After they all caught their breath, Gracie got up out of her bed and started rummaging through her backpack.

"I have something for you guys," Gracie said as she stood up again. She lifted up her hand and Lost could see that four gold chains were dangling down. Swirl gasped and raced out of Lost's bed.

"What, really? You bought necklaces for us?" Swirl said. "They are SO cute!"

Each necklace had a dainty gold chain with a jewel pendent on the end. All four had different colors for the pendant. There was an orange, a red, a turquoise, and an emerald.

"Yup! I bought one for each of us. I didn't know which room mates I'd get so I wasn't so sure on buying them. But then my mom said I should just buy them and give them to whoever I get," Gracie replied. "I hope you like them!"

"I do!" Swirl gushed. "Can I pick one?"

Gracie nodded and Swirl reached out and took the one with the turquoise pendant.

Fang and Lost got up and looked that other necklaces. Lost thought they were all pretty.

"May I take the red?" Fang asked.

"Sure thing! Take whichever you want!" Gracie said.

Fang picked up the red pendant and walked back to her bed, admiring the necklace.

Lost thoughtfully looked at the other necklaces. She really liked the emerald colored one and it would bring out the little bit of green in her eyes.

Lost lift the emerald one and watched it as it shone in the sunlight. "I like this one."

"Then I'll take the orange one!" Gracie said happily.

Lost went back to her suitcase next to her bed and pulled out a green skirt and a gray shirt to go with it. It matched very nicely with the emerald pendant.

Swirl marched out of the bathroom, fully dressed and ready to go. She grabbed her wizard hat and plopped it down on her head with satisfaction.

Lost ducked into the bathroom and quickly changed and brushed the many knots and tangles out of her hair.

Just as she went out of the bathroom, the speakers let out a series of crackles.

"Hello and goooood morning!" Headmaster Clark said way too cheerily for seven in the morning. "I hope you all feel rested because today is going to be a fun, full day! Breakfast is in half an hour! Be sure to go down to the cafeteria. There, I will give out a few announcements. Jam on!"

Gracie rushed into the bathroom shouting, "I need more time! I have to do my pigtails!"

The door slammed shut. Lost started making her bed, trying to get it to look as good as it had before she had slept in it. After she struggled with that, she shoved her sketchbook back into her backpack.

A few minutes later, Gracie marched out of the bathroom with her hair in neat pigtails. Fang quickly ran into the bathroom so she could get changed as well.

Gracie sat on her bed, contemplating on which neck item to wear. Her orange scarf or her necklace. She finally decided on the necklace and quickly put it on.

"How does it look?" Gracie asked. The orange pendant stood out on the white and gray shirt.

"Lookin' good!" Swirl said.

Lost nodded and put her own green pendant necklace on. She noted Swirl had hers on as well.

"Ten minutes, let's go!" Fang exclaimed as she rushed out of the bathroom and dumped her pajamas on her bed.

The girls hurriedly put their shoes and ran out of their dorm, through the halls and down to the cafeteria.

"We should all sit at the same table!" Lost said after they gone through the line and got their homemade porridge.

The girls all nodded and sat down at an empty table. Lost looked around and noticed Bepper standing in the line with Wisteria. They seemed to be very good friends.

"Hey, can I invite Karalee, Sarah, and Ja to sit at our table?" Gracie asked.

Hey, I know all of those people! Maybe I'm getting the hang out this boarding school stuff.

"Sure!" Fang said.

Gracie got up and wandered into the crowd.

"Did she even see them or is she just looking?" Swirl asked, confused.

Lost shrugged and started digging into her porridge. She was pretty upset there wasn't any chocolate chips to put in it.

"I'm back! With the pack! Hey, that rhymed!" Gracie said, sitting down in a chair.

Karalee, Sarah, and Ja sat down at the table and immediately started chatting among themselves.

Lost glanced up and noticed a girl brown-black wavy hair making her way over to their table. The girl reached the table and sat down next to Gracie.

"Hey Gracie!" the girl said.

Gracie turned around and grinned. "Frozen! Hi!"

Frozen was wearing pretty much all orange. A orange cap with a design of a fox face sat on her head with a fake tail at the back. Her backpack was orange and she had orange and white stripped socks. A dark orange backpack and an orange necklace with little spikes matched the look.

"Guys, this is Frozen," Gracie said. "She is part of our pack."

All the girls introduced each other and started chatting and eating porridge.

A loud SHRIEEEEEK coming from the little stage at the far end of the room made almost all the students jump and look around. A younger looking student burst out crying.

"Sorry for that!" Headmaster Clark said into the microphone on the stage. "Anyway, I have a couple of announcements for you!"

He cleared his throat before beginning. "First of all, art is starting up today so make sure you go when it says so on your schedule tells you to do so. Second, one of your fellow students wishes to give a little announcement himself! So, without further ado, Aparri, please make your way to the stage.

Headmaster Clark went down off the stage and sat down in one the chairs near the stage. Lost looked around and saw Aparri making his way to the stage looking a little nervous.

Just as he was almost at the stage, a chant started.

"A-PARR-I! A-PARR-I! A-PARR-I!" kids chanted, banging the tables with their fists.

The chant seemed to calm him down. Aparri smirked and hopped onto the stage. He stood there and waited for the chant to stop. He looked like he was enjoying it. Finally, it drifted off.

"Hey, guys. It's me, Aparri." Aparri cleared his throat and continued. "As you all probably know, I get a load of autograph requests. Like, I just stand there in the hallway and a bunch of people yell at me to give them an autograph. I'm not saying I don't like it, I love it. But some of the teachers don't like it because that makes their students late for class."

A little ripple of laughter went throughout the cafeteria. Though Lost heard a loud sigh coming from nearby. Lost looked and saw a guy in blue. Like, all blue. He had a large blue top hat on his head and wore a blue shirt. He had a large black spiked necklace of some sorts around his neck and Lost noted a huge turquoise ring on his hand. He also was wearing a large frown on his face as he glowered at Aparri.

Just as Aparri was about to continue, a loud yell came from the back of the cafeteria.

"Just stop talking already! Don't you ever stop talking for just one moment in the day?!"

Aparri seemed a little taken aback but quickly recovered. "So, instead of me signing autographs in between the classes, I will be in the games room almost every night, ready to sign some autos."

A couple of girls at the table behind Lost sighed dreamily. Lost rolled her eyes.

"Before I go, I just want to let you know that I will be having a daily giveaway," Aparri took a deep breath before continuing. "AllyouneedtodoisheadtothegamesroomtonightandthenIwilltelltherulesthen. Well, peace out!" Aparri took another deep breath from talking so fast and walked off the stage.

The room erupted into applauds and Lost clapped half-heartedly, still confused on what he had said at the last part of his speech.

Lost felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and saw a girl with a blue flower in her light brown hair and a blue and white stripped scarf around her neck. The girl leaned closer to Lost.

"Did you catch anything of what Aparri said at the end?" the girl whispered.

"Nope. Not a word." Lost whispered back.

"I'm Gfox, by the way." Gfox said softly.

"I'm Lostfairy." Lost grinned. She then noticed Headmaster Clark back on stage and turned back around in her seat to listen to him.

"Thank you very much, Aparri." Headmaster Clark said. "Well, the bell is just about to ring so you better finish up your breakfast and head on up to your classroom!"

The cafeteria became abuzz with noise and chatter. Sarah looked up from her empty porridge bowl and looked around at table.

"Does anyone have the same homeroom as me?" Sarah asked.

"I do!" Ja said brightly.

"I KNOW you do, Ja. I was asking everyone else." Sarah said and stuck out her tongue at Ja.

"Well, who do you have as your homeroom teacher?" Karalee asked.

"Mr. Sigurd." Ja replied then snickered. "Heh, that's a funny word. Sigurd."

"I have Ms. Liza. And I know you have her too, Swirl," Lost smiled.

"Speaking of which, I'd like to get there earlier rather than later. I hate getting caught up in the rush after the bell rings," Swirl said.

"Good plan. Bye guys!" Lost said, standing up.

There was a chorus of goodbyes as Lost and Swirl walked toward their second homeroom of the year.

Chapter 7 - The Amazing Meatballs

A girl came marching into the dorm. She had brown hair with long bangs. She wore a brown longbow on her back and an orange and blue scarf around her neck. She had a bright smile on her face as she stared at Lost and Swirl.

"Hi there! I'm Graciepopstar!" Gracie said.

"Hey, I'm Lost and this is Swirl," Lost replied. "I'm guessing your our dorm mate?

"Yup," Gracie said, looking around at the room.

"Is that your suitcase?" Swirl asked, pointing at the bag near the bed by the window.

"No, that's not mine. It must be our other room mate," Gracie said.

So, Gracie isn't the mystery roomie.

"Well," Gracie said as she moved her duffel bag to a bed, "I overheard one of the teachers talking to some kids and they said art starts tomorrow. They wanted us to get settled in."

"Oh, I was wondering about that," Swirl said.

Lost nodded, even though she had totally forgotten about art. She watched Gracie start unpacking her duffel bag and neatly refold her clothes.

Suddenly, a loud crackle came from overhead. There was sounds of static before a voice started speaking from the speaker in the top corner of the room.

"Hello again, students! I hope your all getting settled in your dorms and getting to know each other. I can already tell that this year will be a year to remember," Headmaster Clark said, cheerfully. "Just so you all know, some parents have come with all your belongings. I suggest that whoever doesn't have any luggage should make your way down to the lobby. You will meet your parents there. Thank you and as we say in Jamaasian High, jam on!"

The speakers went silent. Lost could hear a couple of doors closing and the pounding of running feet.

"I should go get my stuff," Lost said, pulling herself to her feet. She made her way to the door, quietly shutting it behind her. She went down the stairs to the main lobby. The bird statue glowed mystically.

Lost slipped and slid over to the doors. Marble floor sure was slippery!

Lost peered through the glass doors, noticing how spotless they were. Whoever cleaned the school certainly deserved a pay raise!

Seeing her mom, Lost pushed the door open and took a deep breath. The air smelled cleaner here than it did back at home.

Mom walked up the front steps with a smile on her face and holding a brown suitcase. She put it down and pulled Lost into a hug.

"How are you? How's the school? Do you like your dorm?" Mom asked.

"I'm fine, school's great, and I love my dorm. It's so weird though, there's like, famous people here!" Lost exclaimed.

"Hmm, interesting," Mom replied. "Well, I probably should let you go. It's most likely going to be supper soon."

Lost nodded and picked up her suitcase. "Thanks for bringing this, Mom."

"Anytime!" Mom smiled. "Bye, sweetie!"

Lost waved before turning back around and walking inside. She hurriedly made her way back up to her dorm room.

As she reached her dorm room door, it opened and Swirl and Gracie marched out.

"Where are you guys going?" Lost asked, confused.

"Oh, while you were out getting your stuff, the supper bell rang. It's time to go down to the cafeteria," Swirl replied.

"Go ahead and put your stuff in the room. We'll wait for you," Gracie added.

Lost nodded and quickly put her suitcase down on the carpet beside her bed. She'd have to unpack later.

The three girls made their way down the stairs. Lost could hear the clatter of dishes and smelt the aroma of food as they walked up to the cafeteria door. Lost quickly grabbed the handle and held it open for Swirl and Gracie.

"You guys wanna sit at the same table, right?" Gracie asked.

Lost nodded. The idea of trying to find another spot with a group of people she didn't know didn't sound like the ideal plan.

The girls walked up to the end of the line, waiting for their turn. Lost peered past the line to see what was being served.

"Oh yum!" Swirl exclaimed. "Meatballs and spaghetti!"

Lost moved up in the line and grabbed a yellow tray. The serving lady raised a giant spoonful of spaghetti and plopped it down on a plate. Lost cringed at the huge amount.

After getting meatballs and water, Lost made her way to the table where Swirl and Gracie sat at. Just as she sat down, a girl pulled up a chair next to Gracie.

"Ja!" Gracie yelled. "How've you been?"

"Hi Gracie! I haven't seen you since this morning!" Ja said. She wore one silver glove and a red-brown jacket. It had a bow and arrow design on the front.

"So, guess what? I was really hoping to be in a dorm with you and it turns out, I'm in the same room as Sarah! Fancy that, huh?" Ja continued.

"Really? That's such a coincidence!" Gracie said.

"Ja is Sarah's sister, by the way, Lost," Gracie explained, turning towards Lost.

"Which dorm are you in? Maybe it's close to mine!" Ja said excitedly.

"Um, I think it's room number twenty-six. Right, guys?" Gracie said.

"Oh neat! Mine's room thirty! We're just a little ways away from each other." Ja replied.

Lost speared a meatball with her fork and chewed it thoughtfully. So many people already knew each other it seemed. Maybe they had all gone to the same schools before.

All of a sudden, a loud noise came from the far side of the room. Lost looked up and saw a small stage with a microphone. Headmaster Clark tapped it gently and waited for everyone to notice him. Slowly, the room got quiet. The students looked at him expectantly.

"Well, weren't those meatballs great?" Headmaster Clark said. "Anyway, I just want to let everyone know that tonight, you're all free to do whatever you want. You can go to the library or hang out in the games room. But lights out is at ten. Please be at your dorm then. Have a great evening!"

As he walked off the stage, the chatter began again. Lost looked around and noticed Wisteriamoon over near Julian. They sure seemed awfully close.

"Well!" Swirl said, banging the table with her hand. "What's the plan for tonight?"

"Hey, Gracie? Can you come with me and go to the games room? I told Sarah I'd meet her there." Ja said.

Gracie nodded. "I can go. If that's okay with you two." She looked at Swirl and Lost.

"Go ahead! Have fun," Swirl replied.

"So. What's the plan now?" Swirl said, turning her head to look at Lost.

"I don't know. We only have a few hours. Want to go hang out at the library?" Lost suggested.

"Sure! Let's go!" Swirl said.

The two girls walked through the cafeteria. Lost listened to random bits of chatter as she passed by tables.

She suddenly noticed that she was going past a table where Aparri and Bepper were seated at. She noticed Aparri put his arm around Bepper in a friendly sort of way. Maybe they were related to each other? They both did have the same dark brown hair.

Before she knew it, Lost found herself in the library.

It had huge bookshelves in every direction. Dark green tables were set up so students could study. The walls and floor were dark brown wood. The shelves were mahogany and full of books in all shapes and sizes. Lost couldn't tell how big the room was, shelves blocked her view. The air seemed to have an ancient feel to it. Lost couldn't put her finger on what made it feel like that.

Lost took a deep breath. She loved the smell of libraries. All those books in their shelves just waiting to get picked up! All those adventures ready to be read. Yes, Lost sure did love a good library.

* * *

Lost looked up at the giant clock high up on the wall. It was almost lights out.

"We should go," Lost said, closing and putting the book she was reading back onto the shelf.

Swirl nodded and the girls walked out of the library, up the stairs and down the halls to their dorm. Lost was so tired, she could have slept right then and there!

As Swirl pushed the door open, Lost saw a girl with black hair sitting on a bed.

Aha! Our mystery roomie!

"Oh hi there!" Swirl said brightly.

The girl looked up at us and smiled. "Hi."

"I'm Swirlshine. This here is Lostfairy. Gracie is our other roomie. She's not here yet," Swirl continued.

"I'm Fangwolf. But my nickname is Fang," Fang said, brushing a wave of dark hair behind an ear. Fang had red streaks in her hair that worked really well with the black. She had a mini black and white top hat perched on her head. A matching black necklace and bracelet with white studs were on her neck and wrist. A dark red jacket finished the look.

"Hello!" Gracie said, bounding into the room. She walked over to Fang and stuck out her hand. "I'm Gracie!"

Fang smiled and shook Gracie's hand. "I'm Fang."

Lost walked over to her bed and flopped down on it. She was exhausted from the long day.

"Well, we should all go to bed," Swirl suggested. "It'll be another long day tomorrow."

Gracie and Fang nodded and started getting ready for bed. Lost groaned softly, stood up again, and took out her toothbrush.

After she had brushed her teeth and changed into pajamas, Lost snuggled into her warm covers. She watched Swirl brush her brown hair, Fang hop into a bed, and Gracie put on hand lotion.

"Ready for lights out?" Swirl asked. She ran over and flipped off the light. Lost heard her bed rustle as she leaped into it.

"Goodnight guys!" Gracie said in the darkness.

There was a chorus of goodnights and then the room went silent.

Lost stared at the ceiling and sighed happily. She pulled her blanket close around her.

Today, she had survived Jamaasian High. The question now was, could she survive the next day as well?

Chapter 6 - Dorm Sweet Dorm

Lost wandered down the halls, moving with the heavy flow of kids. As she walked down the stairs to the main floor, she spotted a familiar blue wizard hat a little farther away.

"Swirl!" Lost called over the loud crowd.

Swirlshine stopped and looked to see who had called her name. When she saw Lost, she grinned and ran over.

"Hey Lost! Whatcha doing?" Swirl asked.

"I'm going to the office to see which dorm I'm in and to get my locker. You?" Lost said.

"Same! Wanna come with me?" Swirl replied.

"Sure, that'd be great," Lost smiled.

They began walking towards the office. Lost noticed a large group of kids hanging around some lockers.

"Hey! Come sign up to the Wolf Clan!" one student yelled.

"Come join the Carrot Clan! We meet every day after school!" another kid shouted.

"What's that?" Lost asked Swirl as they passed by.

"Oh, that? Those are like clubs. Sorta," Swirl said.

What kind of club is a carrot clan?

They finally reached the office just as the door opened and a herd of loud kids walked out. Swirl reached over, grabbing the door before it shut and held it open.

"After you," Swirl said.

Lost walked into the room and saw there was a lineup for getting dorms and lockers. Lost marched to the end of the line and leaned on one foot slightly more than the other, waiting.

"So, how's school so far?" Swirl asked, coming up beside Lost.

"Pretty good. Coach Gilbert is... interesting," Lost smirked.

"Yeah. he's something else, isn't he?" Swirl laughed. "By the way, are you thinking of joining any after school activities, like sports or drama?"

"Hmm, I don't know." Lost thought for a moment. "Maybe? What about you?"

"Perhaps drama?" Swirl said.

"Nice," Lost said as they moved up in the line. Lost glanced over and saw they were the next ones up after a boy with all black clothing.

After a minute, the boy took a slip of paper from the lady at the desk and walked towards the door, glaring at everyone. Lost shuffled forward.

"Hello, girls. How may I help you?" the lady asked.

"Hi, we're here for our dorm room locations and our lockers." Swirl said politely.

"And your names?" the lady said.

"Swirlshine and Lostfairy." Swirl replied.

The lady clacked away on her keyboard for a bit before grabbing two pieces of paper and writing something down.

"Here you are," the lady said, handing the pieces of paper over.

"Thank you!" Lost and Swirl called as they walked away from the desk.

"Let's see which dorms we have," Swirl said excitedly.

Lost looked down at her paper, skipped pass her locker location and code, and saw where her dorm room was.

"My dorm room is number twenty-six," Lost said as Swirl leaned over her shoulder to see.

"Yaaaayy!" Swirl shrieked in Lost's ear. "My room is twenty-six too! We're roomies!"

Lost beamed and grabbed Swirl's arm.

"C'mon, let's go to our dorm!" Lost said, pulling Swirl towards the door.

"Oh wait! I forgot to phone my mom," Lost said, stopping.

She quickly ran back to desk and asked to use the phone.

After a few minutes, she flew back to where Swirl was waiting.

"Come on!" Swirl said. "I wonder who else will be in our room!"

The girls hurried up the stairs to floor four where the beginning of the girls' dorm rooms were. As they went down the hall, looking for their room, they heard girls yelling and laughing in the hallway and in different rooms. Doors were left open as everyone found their room.

Lost and Swirl stopped in front of their room. Lost held her breath as Swirl twisted the knob.

This is it. I'm going to find out which girls I'm going to spend all year with.

Swirl pushed the door open and walked in. Lost followed after her.

The room was empty. There were four beds, two on either side of the room. A giant window was on the far wall across from the door. There was a night table next to each bed with a lamp. The beds all had the same bedspreads and two pillows on each bed. The wall was a light brown wood and the floor had carpet spread all around it. The room was nice, comfy, and homey.

Lost walked over to the window and peered out. She could see the school grounds where a few students were scattered around. There was some woods further out behind the field.

"Well, one of our roomies must have come and gone," Swirl declared.

Lost turned back and noticed a suitcase next to one of the beds closest to the window.

"Which bed do you want?" Lost asked.

"Can I have this one?" Swirl asked, pointing to the other window bed.

"Sure. I'll take the one next to it," Lost replied.

Lost sat on the bed and daydreamed about how she would decorate her little space. Perhaps some posters and books in the night table shelf. And some of her stuffed toys on the bed.

"Lost!" Swirl said, cutting through Lost's daydream.

"Hm?" Lost replied.

"I was asking when you would get your suitcase and things."

"Oh, my mom said she'd bring it over soon," Lost said, glancing at the clock on the wall. "I think she'll be here in about ten minutes."

Swirl nodded and sat down on her own bed. She gazed at the door. "I really want to know who we're going to spend our year with, y'know?"

Lost nodded. "I know."

All of a sudden, the door burst open.